The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Humane Education website at http://humaneeducation.org/blog/2012/09/03/the-peter-v-paul-debate-are-we-too-optimistic-and-too-blind-about-the-power-and-limits-of-technology/

When you’re done watching the talks, have watched the subsequent Peter/Paul debate, and have read Sailesh’s blog post, ask yourself: If you were to bring these talks and the questions and issues they raise to others to educate and launch discussion, what would you hope to achieve through such a conversation? What would you want such discussions to create? Where should we go from here?

About Zoe Weil

Zoe is the co-founder and president of the Institute for Humane Education
She's the author of several books, including Most Good, Least Harm; Above All, Be Kind; and The Power and Promise of Humane Education.
See her TEDx talk, "The World Becomes What You Teach": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5HEV96dIuY

1 Comment

So we’ve had amazing technological advances in the past 30 years, but more people are impoverished today than ever before. Even in the US where technology has doubled GDP in the past 30 years, most people are poorer. If a tiny fraction of the population continue to use technology to monopolize the earth’s resources and exploit people, innovation will continue to fail to make a difference or even continue making things worse. A bright future is not so much about technology, but rather how the tool of technology is used. Will elites continue to be self serving and fulfill their dark assumptions about human “nature,” or will they embrace humanity and the living world so abundance is broadly shared? The future is not about technological revolution; its about a philosophical revolution of the human soul.